Directions and visits to GEO600

The gravitational-wave detector GEO600 is situated 20 kilometers south of Hannover close to Sarstedt near the village Ruthe.

Aerial picture of a landscape with many fields and an L-shaped structure. At its vertex are several buildings and a small parking lot. On top of the image is a red box with text in white letters reading “Visit GEO600, 11th Open Day, 4 July 2026, 12:00 to 16:00”

11^th and last Open Day at GEO600

April 09, 2026

Visit the gravitational-wave detector near Sarstedt on 4 July 2026 more

Fields stretch to the horizon, with several buildings, two long tunnels at ground level, and a parking lot in the foreground, surrounded by green spaces.

The GEO600 project will end on 31 December 2026

March 19, 2026

More than three decades of cutting-edge research at the German-British detector have shaped the international field of gravitational-wave astronomy. more

Visiting GEO600

A group of people are standing on a platform in a laboratory, looking at several large metal tanks and technical devices illuminated by bright lights. — Visit to the GEO600 central building during the Open Day 2018.

B. Knispel/Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

Visit to the GEO600 central building during the Open Day 2018.

B. Knispel/Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

Please note that the detector site can only be visited after previous date arrangements. If you would like to get a tour of the GEO600 facilities, please contact Benjamin Knispel to coordinate the details of your visit.

For groups of seven or more, we will arrange a visit for you within our regular working hours. The tours will be offered until the end of 2026 and take about 90 minutes. They include an introduction to gravitational waves and the astronomy they allow to do, as well as a detailed tour of the site and the technology of a gravitational-wave detector. Tours are offered in English as well, just ask.

To visit the central laboratory building, an age of 16 years or older is required due to laser safety regulations.

Individually joining group tours

Individuals may occasionally join group tours. Please check our registration portal for available places. To participate, you must register there for one of the offered dates. Unless indicated otherwise, the tours will be in German language.

Registration portal

for the next GEO600 tours

Directions from Hannover by public transport

From Hannover main station take either the Metronom (direction Göttingen), the erixx (direction Bad Harzburg) or the S4 (direction Hildesheim). Get off the train at Sarstedt station. The journey time is between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the train. From Sarstedt station, you can continue the remaining 4 kilometers to GEO600 by taxi, by bicycle (rules for taking your bike on trains in the greater Hannover area) or by walking. Also, busses drive to “Ruthe/Hopfenberg” about 1 km from the detector site.

Directions from Hannover by car

Take the road B6 (Messeschnellweg) to the South and turn right at the sign Sarstedt/Heisede. Turn right to Heisede, then left at the sign Schulenburg/Ruthe. After entering Ruthe turn right. After crossing the Leine river, turn right at the EXPO sign (resp. at the white sign “Universität Hannover/Versuchsgelände”, resp. at the green sign Schäferberg). Drive along the apple orchard to the gate at its end.

The number of parking spaces on the detector site is limited. If you plan to arrive with a group of more than six cars, please contact us ahead of your visit.